"When we contemplate the whole globe as one great dewdrop, striped and dotted with continents and islands, flying through space with other stars all singing and shining together as one, the whole universe appears as an infinite storm of beauty." (John Muir, Travels in Alaska)

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Tuesday, March 25, 2014

9 Degrees Farenheit

This morning, it was 9 degrees Farenheit. Almost 13 below Celsius.

On December 25, I'd wear long johns and two sweaters under my down jacket when the temps hit single digits.

On March 25? I am a honey badger who waits for the bus wearing dress slacks and a single jacket. Our home temperature has been set at 60 degrees for months. My body seriously overheats when the temps go above 70 (as in, sweating in a tank top).

It was cold enough that our pond froze solid, at least 6 inches thick in some places!

skating on our pond

While we were stuck inside, Dave and I nailed (heh) our first big DIY project. In retrospect, home improvement projects should happen only in the seasons that permit use of a circular saw outdoors. Besides the insane amount of sawdust that ended up everywhere, I'm super pleased with the results and how well we worked together. In fact, we made only 1 extra trip to the hardware store, only because we purchased the wrong sized jigsaw blades.

Once we had a dishwasher to wash huge stacks of plates, it was party time: the Third Annual Not New Year's Bash, celebrated in style, with Dave swinging around a few gentlemen monkey bars.

In between the cold and the cold, we dog-sat for a retired sled dog on his way to his retirement home in Virginia. Not so retired that he couldn't pull my lazy butt down the South Hill Rec Way a few times!

go skijor!

This winter was my first trip to Salmon River Falls. Conditions were excellent that day, so even though I was tired, I hopped on the amazing line "Mate, Spawn, & Die" - and climbed it cleanly, surprising myself.

that's actually dave climbing, but i did that, too. amazing climb.

Our one trip up to the Adirondacks this winter was a bit of a bummer. My work life has been stressful, leaving little mental energy for butt-whupping in the backcountry.

this looks how my brain feels

Dave, Chris, Nick, and I hiked Algonquin in horrible conditions; the 50 mph sustained winds were yanking me off my feet, and I wanted to be anywhere but on that mountain.

Dave, Nick, and I tried to climb Cascade Pass, but we didn't have the right equipment or beta and bailed after two short distance, long time, very cold pitches. Nasty weather and uncertainty are fun when you have the mental stamina to deal with them. I didn't.

views of the great range from the top of algonquin.
not pictured: insane wind speeds

The best part of the weekend was partaking of traditions with friends.